Illinois Sen. Barack Obama sent a letter to President George W. Bush this week saying the war in Iraq has left the National Guard stretched thin and asked Bush to ensure that federal agencies have the resources to respond adequately to emergencies in the United States.

Obama’s letter to the White House came days after a deadly tornado wiped out most of Greensburg, Kansas. Bush toured the devastated area Wednesday amid criticism that tornado survivors were not provided with swift and efficient federal assistance.

"I’m troubled by reports that our emergency response capabilities continue to be hampered because National Guard resources have been diverted overseas," Obama said in his letter to Bush.

Obama, a Democrat, is running for president in the 2008 election, the first viable black candidate for the White House in American history.

"The Guard provides our first defense against disasters that strike on our soil," Obama wrote. "In light of the tragic events in Greensburg, Kansas, I’m writing to ask you that the federal government ensure that the National Guard has the resources necessary to respond to disasters here at home."

"Our National Guard should never be overstretched to the point where we allow our homeland security and emergency response capabilities to erode," Obama added. "We must provide our troops with all of the resources they need to perform their missions overseas, but we must also ensure that civilians at home are protected from natural disasters and security threats."

Bill Burton, a spokesman for Obama, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Wednesday that Obama expects a response from Bush and could possibly meet with Bush about the issue.

When asked how Obama would handle the National Guard problem if he is elected president, Burton said, "He would make sure local communities have the resources they need to combat the threats and disasters we face here at home."

Last week, a 1.7-mile-wide Category F-5 enhanced tornado, with wind estimated at 205 mph, destroyed about 95 percent of Greensburg, Kansas, a farming town.

Search and rescue operations continued in Greensburg, where emergency responders have struggled to determined if any of its 1,600 residents are missing because so many are staying with friends or relatives rather than in shelters.

President Bush sought to lift spirits Wednesday in the wake of a killer tornado, dishing out hugs while stepping through the rubble of what had been a close-knit town of 1,400.

The president said he came to Kansas to tour the wreckage in the hopes that he could "touch somebody's soul by representing our country."

"A lot of us have seen the pictures about what happened here and pictures don't do it justice," said Bush, standing in the street in front of a brick one-story home that now has no roof. "There is a lot of destruction. Fortunately, a lot of folks had basements here in this part of the world and lived to see another day. Unfortunately, too many died," he said.

Colorado state Sen. Peter C. Groff, publisher of Blackpolicy.org and executive director of the Center for African American Policy at the University of Denver, said the issues raised by Obama in the letter to the president were on point.

"The president has engaged in a backdoor draft, using the National Guard to fight his war in Iraq without regard to their supposed role of assistance to states in national disasters or emergency situations," Groff told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

"The Guard and their equipment are called up by the president, and while the soldiers return home (hopefully), the equipment stays, either destroyed or left for continued use," said Groff.

"State legislators and governors have been asking this question for some time and will appreciate finally getting some assistance and attention from the folks in Washington," he added.

"In my official capacity as a state senator and president pro tem of the Colorado state assembly, I also chair the State Veterans and Military Affairs committee," Groff said. "In the annual report to the committee by the state National Guard commander, I asked that very question. Once the call for Iraq comes, the equipment is gone (forever), and the troops are gone for the length of the deployment. We had trouble responding to farmers and cattle during the blizzards because we lacked manpower and equipment."

The Bush administration and Kansas' Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius started pointing fingers at each other Tuesday over the response to the devastating tornado.

Sebelius said she planned to talk with Bush about her contention that National Guard deployments to Iraq hampered the disaster response.

"I don't think there is any question if you are missing trucks, Humvees and helicopters that the response is going to be slower," she said. "The real victims here will be the residents of Greensburg, because the recovery will be at a slower pace."

Amaya Smith, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, said the federal government is not prepared to adequately respond to domestic emergencies.

"President Bush's failed stay-the-course strategy in Iraq has left our National Guard stretched incredibly thin, leaving us vulnerable to natural disasters, terrorist attacks and federal emergencies right here at home," Smith told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Sebelius has long spoken out about the fallout from sending National Guard units and equipment overseas. She says the war in Iraq is damaging domestic disaster readiness, because needed manpower is drained from states, and the Pentagon is not replacing equipment at a fast enough rate.

Sebelius said she asked the Pentagon in December to replenish lost resources. She also said she spoke about the issue at great length with Bush when he was in Kansas in January 2006, and that Bush assured her that the money for replacements was in his budget.

White House spokesman Tony Snow rejected the criticism, saying the National Guard had equipment positioned around the country to respond to disasters when requested by states.

In an approach reminiscent of the blame game played by the White House with another Democratic governor, Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana, after the federal government's botched response to Hurricane Katrina, Snow at first said the fault for any slow response would be Sebelius'. He said she should have followed procedure by finding gaps and then asking the federal government to fill them -- but didn't.

"If you don't request it, you're not going to get it," Snow told reporters.

Craig Kirby, a Democratic political consultant, said the White House has not learned anything from past disaster-related experiences.

"As for President Bush allowing this to happen, one really needs to question his decision-making," Kirby told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Hurricane Katrina should have been a wake-up call. For the president to still have these type of challenges makes me wonder. No wonder the Congress is at odds with him and the continued funding of the Iraq war. I applaud Senator Obama for recognizing a basic understanding of a common sense issue."

Meanwhile, Obama is waiting for a response to his letter.

"According to the Government Accountability Office, the Illinois National Guard only has 45.6 percent of its dual-use equipment on hand," Obama said in his letter to Bush. "That’s under half of what we need to dam the Mississippi if it overflows. That’s under half of what we need to respond to deadly tornadoes. That’s under half of what we need to evacuate wounded civilians from an attack."

"We cannot afford to learn a lesson about unmet needs each time a disaster strikes," Obama said. "The National Guard is the essential mechanism through which states prepare for and respond to emergencies. If your administration chooses to divert state resources to assist the military overseas, this gap should be filled in order to protect Americans at home."

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Associated Press contributed to this story.